The Penn's Grove record., 1887-03-19
RAIL ROAD DISASTER.
Cars Break Through a Bridge In
Observation-Disclosures Per
sons Killed and One Hum
dred Injured.
BosToN. March Ia.

BosToN. March IA.
A terrible accident occurred this
morning on the Dedham Branch of the
Boston and Providence Railroad, be-
tween Forest Hill and Roslindale, at
what is known as Bussey Park Bridge.
The Z O'Clock train from Dedham,
consisting of seven cars and a baggage
car, under charge of Conductor 11lden,
broke through the bridge. The engine
and three cars went over safely, but
the five others fell through the bridge
to the road beneath, distance of thirty
feet. The last ear, which was the
smoker, turned completely over, and
struck on top of the Others, all being
crushed almost out of shape.
The smoking car after it fell caught
fire, but the Fire Department were
promptly on hand ard prevented any
spread of the flames. The bodies of the
dead have all been removed, and of the
wounded some are at the hospital and
some have been taken home, so that 1t
Is very difficult to Obtain their names
and the extent Of their injuries. Many
of the injured were brought to the hos
pitfalls in this city. The train was
crowded with working people, aud the
most intense excitement prevails among
their friends.
The engineer, when his engine broke
from the train. kept right on to Forest
Hill and gave the alarm instead of
stopping to ascertain the extent of the
accident, and on that account it was
possible to get assistance at once.
The scene of the accident is about a
mile from Jamaica Plain. where the
main line of the Boston and Pr0yi-
denee Railroad branches off to the left
to Readville and Providence, while TO
the right runs a sweeping curve,
which is the Dedham branch. This
arm is built through a valley, and the
embankment for a long distance is a
high one. South street, which leaves
Newton street near the Bussey woods,
runs diagonally under the track OF the
branch, and it was into this cut that
the cars Of the train plunged from the
bridge. 1t has been stated that owing
to the peculiar arrangement of the
abutment the bridge was really the
weakest on the cOncaye side of the
curve, where the heaviest strain was
felt.
An Inspection of the wreck reveales
the fact that the eight cars comprising
the train are jumbled into . complete
wreck, not one of the coaches escaping
almost perfect demolition. From the
location of the wrecked cars it would
seem that the first three cars passed
over the bridge safely. The structure
evidently gave way when the fourth
car was passing over it. The Eve rear
cars went through to the roadway.
landing IN a mass of splinterS in the
street. The strain of the five falling
cars pulled the three coaches in ad-
vance from the rails. They remained
on top of the embankment, but were
pulled off their trucks, and the floor of
each was forced nearly to the roof,
while the seats were iumbled together
in great confusion. The end of the
second coach was a mass of splinters,
caused by the a ahead grinding
against it when the others went down
the embankment. The third coach
was fltteaed to the ground as if it had
fallen on its trucks from a great height,
although it remained on the edge of the
embankment, The roof of the fourth
car also remained Oh the embankment,
having evidently been torn clean from
its ~fastenings where the coach went
through. The next four cars went
down in a heap, the smoker, which was
on the real of the train, falling in the
midst of the coaches, and being actually
ground into small splinters. The in
mates of the smoker were all either
killed or injured, not one escaping
without injury of some kind. Two of
the coaches went clear across the road
way, landing against a stone wall that
bounded a large field at the foot of a
bill. AS the cars lie in their present
location they present a picture of such
absolute demolition that it seems re-
markable that any person in them es-
capped alive.
A curious feature of the disaster Is
found in the fact that the entire bridge
went down with the wreck. Not a
scrap Of iron remained attached to the
abutments, and. but for the chasm and
the awful wreck beneath, there was
nothing to indicate that a bridge had
once spanned the abyss. The wreck of
the bridge lay under the debris of the
train, almost completely shut out from
view. Lying by the side of one of the
spllntered cars was one of the main
iron girders of the bridge, which
showed a clean, new fracture through
its entire breadth at the point of juno
ton of two of its parts. The girder
was composed of two parallel plates Of
heavy wrought iron, connected by bra
ces of wrought iron, and the whole Sc
curely bolted. The opinion is generally
expressed by those who have personally
inspected the wreck that the breaking
of this order was the ~undOubted cause
of the disaster, but there is much
doubt as to the cause of the breaking
of the girder.
Engineer White says that when
across the bridge he felt q shock, which
he thought might have been caused by
aIbroken axle. This, however, could
not possibly have been the first place Of
the accident, for the trucks of the first
two cars are In good condition except
in regard to the fractured oak timber
mentioned above. The only remaining
possible cause Of tie accident is a
broken rall, and 1t is doubtful X an
investigation into this point could re-
suit satisfactorily, for there are many
pieces of broken and twisted rails
snarled up in the wreck.
The probable cause of the smashing
up of the three cars nearest tue engine,
which remained on top of the embank-
ment, is that they must have jumped
the track when the rear cars went
through the bridge, the sudden stop
ping causing them to telescope each
other and collapse. The Bussey bridge
was built fifteen years ago, and during
the past ten years has been repaired
three times, the original wooden
trusses having been replaced with
IRON Orders ONE ten years ago.
Workmen have been busily engaged
all day in removing the debris from the
street and from the embankment. The
wreck is 50 complete that no attempt
was made to " any portion OF the
train. The fragments of cars are being
removed and placed at one side, and